Body of missing Malaysian climber found after a year on Mount Damavand in Iran

A body discovered on Mount Damavand, Iran's highest peak, on Friday (27 October) is believed to be that of a Malaysian climber who went missing in the same area around a year ago.

A team came across the body of the climber, 45-year-old Ramli Abdul Majid, while descending down the peak.

The case was subsequently reported to the Red Crescent Department in the Mazandaran province of Iran, which then dispatched a rescue team to the area.

The rescue workers found the body of the climber on Saturday (28 October) and brought it down from a height of 4,300 metres, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.

However, Majid's wife, Roslida Ablah, 42, said that she had not received any news from authorities, including the Malaysian Embassy in Tehran, about her husband's body.

Khafiz Bachok, a climber who led Majid's search and rescue operation a year ago, said, "We need to wait for an official statement from the Malaysian Embassy."

According to IRNA, Majid had disappeared on 20 November, 2016 at Mount Damavand with his friend, Syed Redzuan Syed Salim Shatri, 50, at a height of 4,200 metres.

The incident is said to have taken place when a 12-member group of Malaysian climbers were ascending the peak. Ten from that group decided to return due to bad weather conditions and heavy snowfall. However, the other two continued their way up and eventually went missing.

Syed Redzuan's body, believed to have fallen from a height of 4,100 metres, was found by the search and rescue (SAR) team at the Yakhar Glacier six days after he was reported missing.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) and the SAR operation 'Mencari Abang Ram' continued the search mission for Majid, but without any breakthrough. The rescue operation, led by Khafiz, was later called off due to bad weather.

According to the New Straits Times news website, another unsuccessful search mission for Majid was carried out by Khafiz in July this year, along with three other climbers from the Alpine Tour Club (KJA).